Let them call it a horse!

About a year ago I began reading a book by John Holt titled, "Learning all the Time". How I wish I had read it years ago, when Ivy was still a baby. I probably would have saved myself a lot of anxiety. Instead of trying to make sure she knew her alphabet, could count to 10, was potty-trained by 2, etc. I would have sat back with amazement and observed how, with much less intervention on my part, she   had learned many of those things all by herself and had the satisfaction of self-discovery to boot! I'm just glad I read it before I actually began trying to "school" her at home. I have been amazed to observe how she (and my son) has learned/discovered so many things all on her own. John Holt observes that children are like little scientists, constantly gathering & testing data. When we as adults, swoop in and tell them how to assess what they see or force them to see things, we remove the internal drive they have to learn & explore. Worse, we may even cause a sensitive child to become fearful and give up!

The other day my daughter came walking around the corner with her coat all zipped up. How and where did she learn to do that? I've never tried to teach her. I guess, she just watched me do it enough times that she finally decided to give it a try herself. Several months ago I came into the kitchen and she was looking at a number chart and meticulously trying to write a number (which turned into writing all the numbers up to 10) as she saw it on the page. Prior to that I had never even attempted to get her to write a single number. Lately, un-suggested by me, she sits in the backseat with her magna-doodle and asks me how to spell words, to which I of course comply. A friend of mine was telling me how her 5 year old son began reading without her ever having tried to teach him: she said that he was very interested in space, etc. and would bring her the same big outer-space book day after day asking her to read words or sentences under photos he found especially intriguing. One day he stopped coming to her and several weeks later they were in the car driving and he began reading off street signs to her. All she could figure out was that he must have puzzled and puzzled over those same words often enough that he began to discover the patterns and went on to decipher other words.

Now, what was mere theory in my mind, is becoming a reality before my very eyes.  My 2 yr. old son provides another great example. At around 19-20months I began setting out a single 12 piece puzzle on his little table (I kept the others in the closet so as not to overwhelm him). I never sat and showed him how to do it. One day I noticed that he was taking out the pieces and examining them. I'm not sure how the rest happened but it didn't take him long to figure out the process of assembling a puzzle and before the age of 2 he was already able to assemble 24 piece puzzles on his own. Incredible! Not me, or my children, but the idea that kids are even smarter than we give them credit for.

Does John Holt advocate leaving them to their own devices or ignoring them?? Certainly not. Its more of a change in our mentality that he's advocating rather than the amount of time we spend with our children. Holt is definitely in favor of lots of adult interaction and play. He's just gently trying to persuade parents and care-givers to give children space to learn and to respect them as little people who may even be insulted by you telling them that what they just called a horse, is in fact a dog. Or that "poon" should be pronounced, "spoon". His observations of children over the years have shown that, being the little scientists that they are, most children will continually adjust their words, ideas, and actions to more perfectly mirror the examples of the adults and older children around them without us intentionally showing them how to correct it. Speak to them with good English and proper sentence structure as often as possible and with sincerity not trying to teach them but merely as a form of interaction, and they will eventually pick up on it and assimilate it into their own expressions.

There is so much more I could say about this book and the others he has written. Are there flaws in his philosophy? Most likely. Do I completely follow all of his ideas. No. But, as the mother of young children I find his approach to be refreshing and inspiring! Every time I read a chapter or even a few pages of his book I am reminded to step back and let my children discover the world on their own and in their own way and to refrain from becoming anxious that they aren't doing or saying something the right way or at the time in which I expected them to do it. I highly recommend this book to anyone with small children or even elementary aged children.

Good Ol' Mother Hubbard

Today is the day that cycles around about every two weeks in which breakfast, lunch and dinner can sometimes consist of the most odd combinations. The reason is that there is next to nothing left in my pantry or fridge. Well, that's not entirely true, we could probably live on pasta for the next few days and I suppose I could scrounge up some form of flat bread involving little more than flour and water...but I'm not quite ready to be Laura Ingalls's "Ma" just yet. Why the meager food supplies? Well, today is 1 day short of two weeks from the last time I went to the grocery stores (s).  You see, I have discovered (thanks to one of my fellow penny pinchers) that if I can stretch my grocery budget over two weeks rather than shopping every week I actually end up saving money.

I was pretty doubtful when I first began. Why would I save money? Wouldn't I just end up buying more when I do go to the store? So I tested the theory and found that in fact it was true. I did spend less. I've been doing this since January and every week I feel like I get a little better at making the food we have last a little longer, so I don't have to buy quite as much when I shop. There are still weeks when we happen to run out of all basic condiments or dried goods at once, and the grocery bill is a little higher, but I still don't spend more than I used to, even in those weeks.

It's become a new adventure for me as I try to find ways of making things last and using foods in creative ways that I would never have attempted before. Like the week we were out of all bread, tortillas and even eggs to use in making bread, and we still had four days left in the week (I've learned how to stretch my bread better since then, but anyway).  I thought, "how hard can it be to make tortillas?" So, I went online to my new favorite cookbook (the Internet) and found a recipe I thought I could use. Two hours later, I had made my very own tortillas...and the family actually approved (I even adjusted the recipe to include whole wheat flour and flax meal)! Yes! I assure you, that cost much less than buying them pre-made in the store, and now I can't bring myself to buy them anymore.  Then, just this week, there were cooked chickpeas left over from another meal and I thought, "would anyone notice if I snuck them into the pancake batter, which is already brimming with flax meal, almond meal and wheat germ?" So, I pureed those chickpeas and added them to my pancakes.  They certainly didn't taste like our normal pancakes, but they were actually pretty tasty and with peanut butter and honey or molasses we could barely taste the difference. My husband loved them, although my daughter was a little skeptical. But, with the extra nutritional benefits those little chickpeas added, I think I will definitely be doing that again.

Its exhilarating to find that I really can spend less money and still eat a healthy, varied diet.  The best part is all of the new recipes and creations I have been "forced" to discover because I've run out of something I would normally use or am trying to make last longer. Necessity is the mother-of-invention, right? It's still a work-in-progress, and I feel certain that I could do much better, spending even less and being even more creative in my food choices and preparation. I'll keep working at it.

But for now, just for kicks, here is a sample of my 2-week list. I would love to know what everyone thinks of it and any suggestions or ideas anyone would like to share that would improve on this.

2 24oz. blocks of cheese
4 cartons cage-free organic eggs
2 gal fat-free hormone free milk (would prefer organic but for now...)
3 cartons organic whole milk yogurt
2 boxes cereal
2 loaves complete protein Trader Joe's bread
3 bags beans (navy, black, pinto, red, lentils)
Flax Meal
Whole Wheat Flour
Huge Container Baking Soda (one of my favorite cleaning agents)
Raisins
Biggest box Oats I can find
Barilla Plus pasta (I love their line of pasta for the protein & whole grains)
Basmati or Jasmine Rice                     
2 whole organic chickens (4-5lbs. each)
Juice (we don't drink every am anymore)
Apple Cider Vinegar (we drink 1T. w Baking soda everyday)
Pasta sauce (my favorite it Pastene, I think its local its the lowest sodium of any brand I've seen)
Fresh Spinach-organic
Romaine Lettuce-organic sometimes
Carrots
Onions - lots
Garlic
Sweet potatoes
Cucumbers - lots when on sale
Broccoli
Apples-cheapest I can find
Oranges by the bag
Grapefruit
Other seasonal/sale fruit
Soy milk
peanut butter (salted &unsalted)

That's the basics. Like this week we are out of mustard and things like that, but I try to spread those things out and have even eliminated things that I can't justify, like butter or bacon. We ran out of butter almost a year ago and I just couldn't bring myself to buy it again. My husband said he was happy to use olive oil or honey, and with his genetically high cholesterol anyway, we haven't gone back.

*I'm still trying to work out how to buy even more organically, especially produce, but right now, whatever I buy that isn't organic, I scrub with baking soda which I've read is the best method of removing any pesticides on the outer skins. Obviously, that won't help remove what the skin has absorbed, but, sometimes, its the best I can do.

At the moment, I'm just excited to get to the store tomorrow and refill my fridge and pantry!

What happened to Sandwiches?

One of my newest discoveries is the realization that lunch doesn't have to consist of a sandwich of some sort...pb&j or otherwise. In the process of trying to lower my budget a friend shared that when she prepares lunches for her family they usually consist of the leftovers from a dinner that week or some other easily prepared carb, protein and fruit or veggie. What, no sandwiches?? Sacrilege! How can lunch not essentially consist of a sandwich? Especially when, 3 days out of 7, I have to pack lunches and sandwiches seem to be the simplest option to prepare. Since I have fallen in love with the Trader Joe's complete protein bread and can't bring myself to go back to traditional whole wheat varieties this makes lunch a rather costly affair. Though I do think that the complete protein bread is great for our diet does it really have to be an essential element to our daily life? The answer I realized was, no, it does not.

Thus began my quest for healthy, inexpensive and quick menu options for lunch, sans sandwiches. Sometimes it's just pasta and cheese with a fruit and veggie on the side. Although, more recently I have been either using leftovers from dinner or, better yet, making lunch "the main meal" of the day and maybe using a slice of bread per person at dinner...maybe. I know this realization is not earth-shattering for most people and certainly not a new idea, but for me it has been ground-breaking! Last night in fact, I prepared one of our newest favorite recipes and was amazed at how simple lunch prep for today turned out to be:  container of Lentils-check, bunch of broccoli-check, sweet potato to be cooked at work-check, apple-check...and dinner for my hubby in the fridge as well as a meal for a later date in the freezer. Nice!

How could I end this post without including the recipe. I only wish I could credit the person who originally posted it online. Its not my recipe, and someone inherited it from their mother, but that's all I know, unfortunately. Anyway, here it is:

Lentil Dahl
(I always double or triple this recipe)

1 onion, finely chopped
1 T. oil (I always use coconut oil for just about everything)
1 1/3 c. split red tentils of toor dal
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. turmeric (my new favorite spice)
1/2 tsp. chili powder or more to taste
3c. water
1.8 oz creamed coconut (I just used coconut milk)

Directions:
1. Saute onion in oil until soft and lightly browned.
2. Add lentils, garlic, cumin, salt, turmeric, and chili, stir for 2-3 min.
3. Add water, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 25-30 min. until lentils are tender.
4. Add creamed coconut and stir over the heat until disolved.

Here it is.  It doesn't look exotic, but it sure is tasty.

 

 

 

New beginings

This is my first blog post, ever. I've barely even followed blogs until recently, much less posted one myself. But, as with everything else that has been changing this year, I have realized that I've learned more and discovered more from reading other people's personal/public (If I may say that) journals than from any institutional or corporate website. So, here it goes.

My most recent fetish or more like obsession has been how to minimize our lifestyle. I'm on a constant mission to either sell or throw away all the "stuff" we don't need or use. The great thing for me is that my awesome husband feels the same way so there is no tug-of-war in our house when it comes to purging useless clutter. The exciting thing is that with Craigslist and Amazon I can actually make money while at the same time making order out of chaos. Just today I got rid of three bottles of cleaner I never used, sold two exercise dvds and recieved inquirys about two other items I have listed. Victory! Small I know, but success nonetheless.

My second obsession, which is in many ways linked to the first, is how to cut our grocery bill while at the same increasing our consumption of whole, organic foods and mouth-watering recipes. Tall order, for sure. But, I am determined. I have already cut our bill in half from what it was several years ago, but it still needs to be trimmed again. My latest solution for meals is to make big pots of stews and soups that are full of veggies and beans and hearty broths and that will last for a day or two and then can also be frozen for later consumption. I've found some pretty great recipes and am constantly on the hunt for more.

My final preoccupation, although there are ever so many more, is homeschooling (with a lot of unschooling thrown in) my precocious five year old daughter. At first I was sure that this was going to be a lot harder than I thought, but I'm discovering that its a lot like many other things that require momentum to get going. Now that we've gotten the ball rolling things are much easier. In fact, I still hesitate to say it, but I think she is well on her way to becoming a full-fledged reader. Oh the bliss of ignorance, I'm sure.


So, with all of that in mind, I intend to use this as a way to pass along the little nuggets I discover on my journey. A journey that seems be taking on an ever increasing pace so that one day is over and another has begun before I've even figured out what the agenda was for the day before. When I had my first baby everybody kept telling me "don't blink or you'll miss it." How true that statement is. Life moves fast and there is so much information available that its impossible to digest it all. Sorting through it all is the challenge and hanging on for dear life is the reality. So embrace it all and absorb as much as you can because every minute is precious...Don't blink!